Permanent wave device



April 4, 1961 F. L. CATTERMOLE PERMANENT WAVE DEVICE Filed Oct. 2, 1959IN V EN TOR.

peA/vcas A. CA T nFe/woz. 6

Unite States Patent 2,977,960 rERMANENT WAVE DEVICE Frances L.Cattermole, Rte. 1, Box 99A, Terra Bella, Calif.

This invention relates to apparatus employed in hair waving, and moreparticularly to a hair Waving clip device for securing strands of hairto form curls therein.

A main object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved'hairWaving clip device which is simple in construction, which is easy toapply to the hair, and which is 'arranged so that the strands of hairengaged thereby are held relatively close to the scalp, whereby the clipdevic'e may serve as a means to protect the scalp from possibleirritation from hair waving lotion, and whereby the strands of hair arerespectively held in a position to be clamped so as to form curls in thehair.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved hair wavingclip device which is inexpensive to manufacture, which is durable inconstruction, which is relatively compact in size, which eliminates. theneed of using pins in conjunction with same, as has been heretoforenecessary with hair waving clip devices of the prior art, which isprovided with means for securely gripping the strands of hair thereoverso as to form curls therein, and whi ch causes no discoloration of thehair or other undesirable elie'cts.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentvfrom the following description and claims, and fromthe accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

Figure l is an exploded view of an improved hair wavill'g clip deviceconstructedin accordance with the present "invention withthe partsthereof shown in separated posi- 'ti'ons, prior to assembly of thedevice.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of an assembled hair waving clip deviceaccording to the present invention, containing the componentsillustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the clip device of Figure 2, shown inopen position. 7

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the clip device of Figure 2, butshowing the clamping pin member thereof in its locking positionoverlying the main body portion of the device and in a position to clampthe strands of hair thereto to form a curl. I I I Figure 5 is anenlarged vertical cross sectional view taken substantially on the line55 of Figure 2. 7

Figure 6 is an enlarged vertical cross sectional view takensubstantially o'n the'line 66 of Figure 2. 7

Referring to the drawings, 11 generally designates a hair waving clipdevice according to this invention, the clip device comprising a pair offlat, arcuate, opposing arnis, shown generally at 12 and 13, said armshaving the concavely curved inner edge portions shownrespectively at14andlS. Thus, the arm 12 comprises a pair of superimposed flat platemembers 16 and 17, the bottom plate member 16 being formed with alongitudinal groove 18 which is covered by the upper plate member 17when saidupper plate member is secured on the lower plate .member 16 bythe use of suitable adhesive, or the like. Similarly, the arm 13comprises the bottom plate member 19 on which is superimposed the topplate member 20, thebottom plate member 19 being formed with alongitudinal groove 21 which extends parallel to the groove 18 when thearms 12 and 13 are in their locked positions, as shown in Figure 2. Therespective top plate members 17 and 20 are rigidly secured, by suitablecement, or the like, to the bottom plate members 16 and 19, whereby todefine the unitary arms 12 and 13. The top plate members are formed attheir ends with the respective notches 22 and 23, and the ends of thebottom plate members 16 and 19 are formed with upstanding apertured lugs24 and 25 at said notches, the lugs having horizontal slots there inwhich are in registry with the longitudinal passages defined by therespective grooves 18 and 21.

The respective arms 12 and 13' are provided at their opposing arcuatelycurved inneredge portions 14 and 15 with a plurality of inwardlydirected, opposing comb teeth, shown at 27 and 28, the teeth comprisingoverlapping segments integrally formed with the respective plate members16, 17 and 19, 20.

The arms 12 and 13 are pivotally connected in overlapping relationshipat their lower inner end portions, as viewed in Figures 1 to 4, by arivet 30. At their opposite end portions, the arms are provided with theinwardly directed resilient finger elements 31 and 32, said fingerelements being formed respectively on the end of the bottom plate member16 and the top plate member 20, as shown in Figure 1. The fingerelements 31 and 32 are provided at their free ends with the respectiveintegral locking balls 33 and 34, whereby the arms 12 and 13 may befastened together by forcing the balls 33 and 34 past each other tointerlock in the manner illustrated in Figure 2, the resilient fingers31 and 32 being sufiicient'ly flexible to allow the balls to pass eachother. The arms 12 and 13 may be released by forcing the balls 33 and 34outwardly with respect to each other, the flexible fingers 3'1 and 32being yieldable sufficiently to allow this action to take place, wherebythe arms 12 and 13 may be separated in the manner illustrated in Figure2.

, As shown in Figure l, the top plate 17 is formed with the recess 50 atits lower end adapted to receive the end lug 51 defined in the subjacentplate member 20 by the provision of a recess 52 in the end of said platemember 20, whereby the plate members 17 and 20 are adapted tointerengage when pivotally connected by the rivet 30. Similarly, the endof the plate member 16 is formed with a recess 54 in its end adapted toreceive the end lug 55 defined on the end of the bottom plate member 19by the provision therein of a recess 56, whereby the ends of the platemembers are interleaved when pivotally connected by the rivet 30.

Similarly, the remaining ends of arms 12 and 13 are reduced to definespaced flat lugs 58, 59 and 60, 61 which are interengageable when theclip device is in its closed position, as shown in Figure 2, to insurethat the clip device will be held in a flat condition when the lockingballs 33 and 34 are lockingly engaged in the manner illustrated inFigure 2. The ends of the respective arms 12 and 13 are recessed, asshown at 63, whereby to receive the reduced end portions of the opposingarm, and whereby the top and bottom surfaces of the opposing arms aresubstantially flush with each other when the clip is in its closedposition.

Designated at 35 is a generally U-shaped fiat resilient pin memberhaving the flat side arms 36 and 37, said side arms being spaced to beslidably engaged through the lugs 24 and 25 and to be slidably receivedin the passages defined by the grooves 18 and 21. The arms 36 and 37 areformed at their ends with the respective hook elements 38 and 39 whichare pivotally engageable with the lugs 24 and 25 when the pin member 35is in its fully retracted position, whereby the pin member may be swungto an overlying position with respect to the main body of the device, asillustrated in Figure 4. The ends of the arms 36 and 37 are connected bythe transversely extending flat rod-like bight elements 40 and 41 iwhich are spaced in the manner illustrated in Figures 1 and 4 and whichare located to receive the locking balls 33 and '34 therebetween whenthe pin member 35 is in its external gripping position, shown in Figure4.

As shown, the arms 36 and 37 are relatively flat and are adapted toclosely'overlie the top surfaces of the arms 12 and 13 when the deviceis arranged in the position shown in Figure 4. The arms 36 and 37 arerelatively flexible so as to yieldably grasp strands of hair 44 and toclamp the strands tightly against the top surfaces of the arms 12 and13. The arms 36 and 37 are likewise flexible sufficiently so that theymay be bent in the manner illustrated in Figure 3 when the pin member 35is retracted from the device.

In using the device, the strands of hair to be curled are first engagedbetween the opposing comb teeth 27 and 28 and the device is locked inclamping engagement with the strands, the device being located in anydesirable position on the users head, for example, closely adjacent tothe users scalp. The arms 12 and 13 are locked in closed position by thelocking engagement of the locking balls 33 and 34, as above described.The strands of hair are then held by the users finger while the pinmember 35 is retracted and the hook elements 38 and 39 are engaged inthe slotted lugs 24 and 25, after which the pin member 35 is rotated toan overlying position with respect to the strands of hair and islockingly engaged with the locking balls 33 and 34 by forcing the ballsthrough the space between the transverse bight elements 40 and 41. Thisclamps the hair strands to the top surfaces of the arms 12 and 13, inthe manner illustrated in dotted view in Figure 5, and shown in fullline view in Figure 4, whereby the strands of hair will be held inclamped position and whereby the required curls will be formed therein.

The clip device may be readily unfastened from the hair by reversing theprocedure above described, first unfastening the clamping pin member 35and then disengaging the locking balls 33 and 34 to allow the arms 12and 13 to be swung apart and to release the hair strands. The variouscomponents of the clip device may be made of any suitable material, suchas plastic material, preferably of a material which is chemicallyimpervious to hair waving lotions and other preparations ordinarilyemployed in waving the hair. Various suitable materials are availablewhich will meet the requirements, and such materials are well known tothose skilled in the art.

The rod-like, transversely extending bight elements 40 and 41 aresomewhat resilient and are sufficiently yieldable to allow the lockingballs 33 and 34 to be forced therethrough, under pressure from the usersfingers, and are likewise sufficiently yieldable to allow the lockingballs 33 and 34 to be disengaged therefrom when the device is unlocked.As shown, the outer rod-like member 41 is arcuately curved to provide asmoothly curved end loop for the pin member 35, whereas the transverseinner rod-like member 40 is relatively straight.

The clip device of the present invention is superior to previous devicesproposed for securing hair to form curls therein, because the devicedoes not form a kink in the hair strands but instead merely holds thecurl in a natural curved configuration, which is the desired waveconfiguration. Furthermore, the resulting hair wave is closer to thescalp and lasts longer.

The clip device of the present invention protects the scalp from contactwith and irritation from permanent wave lotion, and also protects thehair from discoloration from chemical action of the permanent wavelotion with metal, since the device is made of relatively inert plasticmaterial.

Obviously, the clip device of the present invention may be used eitherprofessionally or in the home.

The clip device may be readily employed with hair which has beenpreviously bleached or dyed, since the hair strands 'may be curled ineither direction in the clip device. Bleached or dyed hair can be onlysuccessfully waved if curled in a particular direction due to the factthat the natural physical properties of such hair are somewhat impaired,and that the chemical action of permanent wave lotion makes such hairrelatively brittle, causing the hair strands to break off if curled inthe wrong direction.

While a specific embodiment of an improved hair waving clip device hasbeen disclosed in the foregoing description, it will be understood thatvarious modifications within the spirit of the invention may occur tothose skilled in the art. Therefore, it is intended that no limitationsbe placed on the invention except as defined by the scope of theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A hair waving clip device comprising a pair of flat, arcuate opposingarms having concavely curved inner edge portions, a plurality ofgripping teeth on each of said inner edge portions, means pivotallyconnecting end portions of said arms in overlapping relationship,respective resilient fingers on the remaining end portions of said arms,interengageable locking lugs on the free ends of said resilient fingers,whereby said arms may be releasably locked together in opposing relationwith the gripping teeth thereof in opposing adjacent relationship, agenerally U-shaped resilient'pin member having side portions and a bightportion connecting said side portions, means on the respective arcuatearms located at opposite sides of the pivotal connection of the arms attimes slidably receiving said side portions, means pivotally connectingthe side portions of the pin member to the first-named end portions ofthe arms when the pin member is extended from said arms, and means onthe bight portion of said pin member at times lockingly engageable withsaid locking lugs, when the pin member is in a position overlying thelocked opposing arms with the side portions of the pin member locatedadjacent the respective arms.

2. A hair waving clip device comprising a pair of flat, arcuate opposingarms having concavely cured inner edge portions, a plurality of grippingteeth on each of said inner edge portions, means pivotally connectingend portions of said arms in overlapping relationship, respectiveresilient fingers on the remaining end portions of said arms,interengageable locking lugs on the free ends of said resilient fingers,whereby said arms may be releasably locked together in opposing relationwith the gripping teeth thereof in opposing adjacent relationship,respective apertured lugs on the first-named end portions of the arms, agenerally U-shaped resilient pin member having side portions extendingrespectively through said apertured lugs, means on the arms on oppositesides of the pivotal connection of the arms at times slidably receivingsaid side portions, respective parallel hook elements on the sideportions of the pin member pivotally engageable with said apertured lugsto pivotally connect the side portions of the pin member to thefirst-named end portions of. the arms when the pin member is extendedfrom said arms, and means on the bight portion of said pin memberlockingly engageable with said locking lugs when the pin member is in aposition overlying the locked opposing arms with the side portions ofthe pin member located adjacent the respective arms.

3. A hair waving clip device comprising a pair of flat, arcuate opposingarms having concavely curved inner edge portions, a plurality ofgripping teeth oneach of said inner edge portions, means pivotallyconnecting end porlocked together in opposing relation with the grippingarms, a generally U-shaped resilient pin member having flat sideportions extending respectively through said apertured lugs, means onthe arms on opposite sides of the pivotal connection of the arms attimes slidably receiving said side portions, respectively parallel hookelements on the side portions of the pin member pivotally engageablewith said apertured lugs to pivotally connect the side portions of thepin member to the first-named end portions of the arms when the pinmember is extended from said arms, and a pair of spaced transverselyextending separable resilient elements on the bight portion of said pinmember located to receive said locking lugs therebetween when the pinmember is in a position overlying the locked opposing arms with the sideportions of the pin member located adjacent the respective arms.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,902,042 Halber Sept. 1, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 645,540 France Oct. 26,1928

